Emma Rose
by Ezrianporvida
Summary: This story takes up after Aria finds Ezra's book in the cabin. He was never able to catch up to her. Reeling from all the revelations in her life, Aria makes the decision to leave Rosewood and keep her pregnancy hidden from Ezra. Years later after their daughter makes it her mission to find him.
1. Chapter 1

Emma Rose Montgomery quietly searched through the boxes in front of her. She was sitting in the room her mother grew up in. Emma very much like her mother in a lot of ways. She was smart beyond her years, and when she sat her mind to something, she was unstoppable.

Summer vacation had just begun, and at the strong urging of the eight year old girl, her mother was letting her stay with her grandmother in Rosewood. Emma adored her grandmother, and with teacher's having the summer off, she begged for the chance to stay with her. While one on one time with her grandmother was something Emma was looking forward to, she had a deeper reason for wanting to be in Rosewood. Emma was trying to find her father.

Growing up, Emma remembered her mother telling her stories about her father, they made her mother smile, and they fascinated the young girl. As she got older, her mother was less and less willing to discuss him. It didn't take Emma long to realize her mother was hiding things about him. While it always bothered Emma not to have a daddy, like the other girls, she only recently discovered that he was someone her grandmother worked with, and he did not know anything about her.

It was a few months ago, when her grandmother came for a visit in Philadelphia. Emma was going downstairs to get a drink, when she heard her mother and grandmother having an argument. "The girl needs her father" Ella said sternly. "I am her mother, I am more than capable of taking care of her" Aria shot back. "At this point you know this just isn't right" Ella pressed. "Since when are you the defender of all things Ezra?" Aria responded annoyed. "I see him almost every day, he's a good man, Aria. He doesn't deserve this" Ella tried to reason. "I know that, don't you think I know that?" Aria screamed. "I just can't face him, and I can't spring this on Emma, she's not ready" Aria said quietly. "What are you scared of?" Ella asked exhausted. "That he'll hate me. He's probably moved on and happy, all I could do at this point is crash his world" Aria said sadly. "Don't be silly, Aria. Ezra is no more over you, than you are over him" Ella snickered.

At that moment Emma promised herself she would find him whether her mother wanted it or not. Quietly sneaking back up to her bed, her mind was racing. A big part of her was so angry to find out after all this time, the only reason she didn't have a dad, was because her mother made it that way. At the same time, to know he was out there, in Rosewood, and just maybe he would want her. It was one of the best feelings she could ever remember. She was going to find him, she was know for sure.

"So are you ready to go snooping?" Emma jumped at the unexpected voice in the room. "You scared me" she exclaimed. "Sorry" the boy laughed out. Chris Jenkins was Emma's only ally in her secret quest. Though they were not blood related, Emma's uncle was married to Chris's mother, and as long as she can remember, Chris has been her cousin. "Well it looks like our mission starts here" Emma smiled at him. Chris walked over and joined Emma on the floor, picking up one of the boxes in front of him. It didn't take long for them to find what they were looking for. A black and white box held souvenirs of Aria's youth.

Sifting through the ticket stubs, random spoon, and coasters, Emma found the jack pot, pictures. As soon as she saw the face of the man holding her mother in the pictures, she knew he was her father. He had the same eyes she saw in the mirror, and he had dark wavy curls. Emma beamed with joy. She could just tell by him smile that he was a kind and funny person. She couldn't wait to get to know him.

With a little help from Chris and google, Emma learned that her father's name was Ezra Fitz, and he was an English teacher. "Hey, I know him" Chris told her. "He always talks to my dad". "Do you think you can introduce me?" Emma asked excited. "Well sure, if we run into him, but who would I say you were?" Chris asked nervously/ "Hey Mr. Fitz, this is your daughter" he laughed. "I've already thought it through, I'm your cousin, from your mother's side. I'm staying with you for the summer." Emma beamed with confidence. "What about grandma?" Chris questioned. "Don't you think it would come up?" "Well grandma is not allowed to say anything about me, and I'll tell him my name is Elizabeth" she smiled.

Chris paused for a moment, considering how much he actually believed her schemes were going to work. "Well then it looks like we need to arrange a run in" Chris smirked. Emma's confident smile was now replaced by a look of deep concentration. "I got it, tell your dad that you are working on an Essay contest, it's about teaching, and you want to see if Mr. Fitz can help you with it". "That's a stretch, but yeah, I'll ask him". "Text him now" Emma insisted. Chris did as he was told, and then the two took their attention back to the boxes in front of them.

"Emma, Chris!" Ella called out from downstairs. "Lunch is ready". Quickly Emma placed all Aria's items back in the boxes and Chris helped put them back on the shelf. A few minutes after sitting down and eating lunch with their grandmother, Chris's phone buzzed. Emma held her breath in anticipation. Chris just simply smiled at her, and she knew that the plan was a go. She tried not to make it too obvious, but she was elated. She was actually going to meet him.

"What's got you two so excited?" Ella questioned. "Well I'm not excited, I'm anxious. I just entered an writing contest. Emma wants to help me with it. I guess things like that excite her." Chris said sarcastically. "A writing contest" Ella responded impressed. "What's the subject?" Chris paused for a moment. "Public Education". Ella's smile grew. "Oh and I guess you having a teacher in the family, is a nice advantage huh?" "Well actually, I really wanted a guys perspective, I asked dad if he would talk to Mr. Fitz for me" Chris answered nervously. Ella froze and dropped her spoon. "Mr. Fitz" she questioned, "Why him?" "Well he's always been really nice, and a lot of the kids look up to him. I'd figured he'd be the best choice." Chris finally answered.

"And you want Emma to help?" she questioned further. "I want to help, I love this kind of stuff, you know that." Emma interjected. Ella sat there silent for a moment, obviously deciding how to react to the new information. "Well I wouldn't go telling your mother, your helping Chris with is essay, she would probably say he needs to do it for himself. But as long as you're with Chris I don't see the harm." Ella smiled. Emma grinned at her grandmother. Even though she couldn't come out and say it, she just became Ella Montgomery's biggest fan.

SOOOooo, what to you guys think? Lots of Ezria coming at you soon! Please let me know what you think so far. I chose the name Emma as my little homage to Once upon a time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sooo... thanks for all the reviews! I really hope y'all like this story! I know there are a lot, of secret Ezria child stories out there, but I couldn't help but write my own. Thanks loves enjoy!**

Bringing his attention back to the current matter of getting what he needed, Ezra grabbed the green detergent bottle, and headed for the checkout isle. Scanning the nearest express lane, he quickly made his way towards it. Instantly he recognized the man standing in line in front of him. He immediately questioned whether he should switch lanes, but then decided that would make an awkward situation even worse.

"Hey you!" Nicole's voice rang in his ear, catching him off guard. She quickly kissed his lips and slapped his ass. "I've been looking for you for like twenty minutes." She laughed. "Sorry, I got caught up on the phone." He smiled at her. Turning around, must to his dismay, was an obviously annoyed Byron Montgomery, staring at him. "Ezra" he almost seethed. "Byron" awkwardly responded. Byron simply looked Nicole up and down, with a not so subtle judgemental glance, and then returned to paying for his items. Ezra cringed. All though he has seen Byron several times since his return to Rosewood, it was always very awkward, and most of the time Byron found a way to disappear quickly. Ezra wished at this point that Nicole hadn't been with him. He knew he shouldn't feel that way, but it felt weird to be with another woman around Byron. He couldn't explain it, but part of him felt ashamed. He couldn't figure out, why he still cared what Byron thought about him.

"So that was awkward" Nicole said confused, as Byron walked away, and they made their way to the cashier. "Well we have a long history" Ezra tried to simply explain. "What was he in love with you or something? Because he was not amused to see me at all." She giggled. Ezra laughed at loud, that's one of the things he liked most about Nicole, she was always blunt with her thoughts, and was one of the funniest people he knew. "Not quite Nic, not at all" Ezra said as he rolled his eyes. "Well don't protest too much" she smirked. "Come one crazy, we got a movie to get in before bed" Ezra said with a smile, very much needing a subject change.

"I've got it!" Nicole exclaimed, a few minutes into the movie. Ezra jumped from the unexpected announcement. "You've got what?" He asked confused. "You had a fling with Ella Montgomery, and that's why her ex-husband hates you!" Nicole answered with a confident smirk. "I don't know what is worse, that you think I would break up a marriage, or the fact that you seem so excited about it?" Ezra chided her. "Yeah, you're too goody too shoes for that. I should have come up with a lamer reason to feud." she conceded. Ezra knew she was now just toying with him, trying to get to the bottom of this new mystery. "Well for your information, I am a big part of the reason they divorced" Ezra toyed back. Her mouth dropped. "But I did not have an affair with Ella" he quickly stated. Almost instantly catching the smartass comment that was about to come out of her mouth "or Byron" he stated sarcastically.

"Well if you think that helps end my prying, you've only just made it more interesting" she challenged. Finally realizing that his relaxing evening, was not going to happen, he grabbed the remote, and turned off the TV. "You remember, when we first met? How I was a mess, and finally I admitted I was just heartbroken?" He asked. "Of course" she smiled. "Well that heartbreak was their daughter. I'm pretty sure no matter what happens for the rest of my life, Byron Montgomery will always hate me." Ezra admitted.

Nicole sat there a moment. Suddenly feeling a little guilty for pressing the matter. She knew Ezra had been through a lot, and obviously it was not something he enjoyed talking about. She debated on dropping the subject all together, or take advantage of him actually talking about it. "So the girl who shall not be named is Ella's daughter" she stated out loud. "Yes" he simply confirmed. "Well she is so friendly with you." She said while trying to read his face. "It took some time, but yes, we are actual friends now." Ezra smiled. After pausing for a moment, she leaned over and laid her head in his lap. "Hey" she almost whispered. "Sorry for pushing you on it. It was funny, until it wasn't" she admitted. "You're fine" He smiled. "Total honestly remember?" "Total honesty" she smiled back.

Waking up the next morning, Ezra made sure to be a quiet as possible. Nicole was still sleeping, and he had promised Mike he would help his kid with an Essay. He normally slept in on summer mornings, but he didn't mind making the exception. He was flattered they even asked him. Making a pit stop at the Brew, for the very necessary coffee of the morning, Ezra stopped and talked to Zach for a bit and then headed to the library.

Walking in he immediately noticed a girl sitting by the window. He had to catch his breath, she looked so much like Aria. She was still little, but almost the height Aria had always been. He instantly reprimanded himself for even going there and shook those thoughts out of his head. Ezra made a promise to himself along time ago. He wouldn't spend countless hours, thinking about her, pinning for her. She left him, and never even gave him the change to explain. While he realized things looked pretty bad, he never forgave her not giving him atleast the chance to explain. As much as they had been through, she didn't even give him that much credit. It killed Ezra, as much as he loved her, he couldn't think of anything in the world that she could do to make him throw it all away. He tried to imagine the worst kind of betrayals, and come to find out, a few of them were true. Still he would have talked it out, no matter what. He finally realized that her love obviously wasn't as strong as his, not at all.

So after months of self hate and pity, he made it a point not to let the hurt take over anymore. Aria wasn't going to control the rest of his life. He was going to move on, and he willed himself to reroute his Aria one track mind. His first few months of this "starting over" as Ezra called it, were anything but healthy. He spend a lot of time in bars, and met a lot of woman in them. This revolving door of bar flies seem to distract him for a bit. But he mostly felt like a jerk, and Rosewood being the small town that it is, things got awkward and fast. Ezra actually moved away for few years.

It was at Principal Hackett and Ella Montgomery's constant request that he returned back to Rosewood High. At that point, the story of Ezra helping to tract down the local stalker was released, and people who had avoided him for years actually treated him like a human again. He met Nicole at the school. She was also a teacher. They became friends, and she leaned on him after a bad break up. Eventually the lines got blurry between the two. A year later, they practically lived together, but didn't. They were practically a normal couple, but they weren't a couple. While most woman would become infuriated at the lack of commitment, Nicole embraced it.

"Mr. Fitz" Chris called out. Ezra looked over and smiled at him. "Christopher" he greeted, sitting down on the chair across from the boy. "So have you decided on a topic?" Ezra asked. "Well, just really the life of a teacher" Chris answered. "Well away, I'm all yours" Ezra smiled. He noticed the same girl from earlier watching them. Chris picked up on it, and took the opportunity to introduce her. "Sorry, that's my cousin Elizabeth, she's kind of following me around for the summer" Chris explained. "Your cousin?" Ezra said surprised. "Oh yeah, my mom's sister wanted her to stay for a little bit, she has to work a lot" he explained. "Oh" Ezra responded. Still staring at the young girl.

"Elizabeth" Chris called out, "Come say hi to Mr. Fitz" he smiled. Ezra couldn't explain it, but he was totally thrown by this girl. She smiled up at him, and made eye contact. He felt like he knew her.

**SOoo let me know what you think! Next chapter coming u soon! I wrote the Ezra confronting Aria chapter months ago, but we have to build up to it! TTYL**


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks so much for the reviews! As for the age of Emma. I chose to keep her as young as possible, and like my first paragraph noted, she is smart beyond her years. Be warned Ezra is not at a point in his life to take Aria's secret well. So hang on for the ride. Ofcourse that drama is yet to come:)

"So Elizabeth, you''re going to spend your summer in Rosewood, how did you get that lucky?" Ezra asked the young girl. She was obviously nervous around him, and for some reason that really bothered him. She paused for a moment and scrunched up her face. Ezra couldn't believe his eyes, that was exactly what Aria would do, when she was put on the spot. "Well my mom, she works a whole lot, and she let me come and spend time with our family." She smiled, and Ezra noticed that she was now starring at him. "So you're related to the Montgomery's?" Ezra braced himself for the answer, he didn't know how he would feel to find out that Aria had started a family. "Oh, no not really, they are Chris 's Dad's family." She quickly answered.

Ezra breathed a sigh of relief, and then mentally kicked himself for jumping to conclusions. He reminded himself to keep the conversation about Chris's essay. "So let's get started, ask away" he turned to Chris. "How old are you?" Chris asked. Ezra tried not to show it, but he was a little surprised at the question. "Well I'm 32" he answered uneasy. "Are you married, do you have any children?" Ezra hesitated for a moment, but then decided to be a good sport. "No, no wife and no kids" he responded. "So your single?" Emma chimed in. "I am seeing someone." Ezra almost laughed at the line of questioning. "Do you think your career makes you more attractive to woman?" Chris asked with a grin. Ezra grinned back and blushed, "It hasn't hurt me in that area" outwardly laughing now.

"Yet you're still on the market, is that a personal choice, or just bad luck? " Chris continued. "Well I personally gave up on silly fairy tale stories, along time ago. Looking directly at Chris, if you can avoid the love trap, I would suggest it.". "So you're not in love?" Emma asked. Ezra turned to to her, "I'm impressed you picked up on that" he said stunned, "but no, I gave up on love, and I'm much better for it." "Well that's sad" Emma said looking in his eyes. "Maybe, but I'm sure some people still have their happy endings, just not everyone" Ezra told her, making a conscious effort to not come off so jaded infont of the child. He could see it in her face that she was sad. He suddenly felt guilty for answering so honestly.

"What about your family, are they from around here?" Chris asked changing to tone of the conversation. "Well my mothers family is from New York, mostly rich snobby people, I can't stand. My Dad's family are the only ones I keep in touch with, they are mostly from the south. I youst to spend my summers my with cousins, it was some of the best times in my life" he smiled at the memory. "So your closer to the Fitz's?" Chris asked. "Fitzgerald's" Ezra corrected. Chris looked confused. "Fitzgerald is my actual name, I changed it after high school in an act if rebellion" Ezra explained. "Do you suggest rebellions?" Chris asked. "A few times in life, nothing too crazy" Ezra laughed a little bit nervously.

A buzz from his phone caught his attention. It was Nicole wanting to meet for lunch. Feeling quilty for not having more time with the kids, Ezra suggested they move the interview over to the Grill. "Are you sure your parents are ok, with you spending your day with some old guy you just met?" He asked Emma as they made their way to the restaurant. "Oh, well I only have my mom, and she is fine as long as I am with Chris" she answered. Ezra could tell right away she was lying, she her eyes shifted to the left, and she looked guilty of something. It reminded him of himself. Something told him, she was hiding something, probably to do with her dad. Whatever happened with him, Ezra felt strongly that it was his loss, who wouldn't be captivated by this little girl.

Walking in to the dinner, Ezra directed the younger kids to a booth. Ezra noticed in Emma bag, that she carried what looked to be a journal. "Do you write?" Ezra asked while he pointed to her bag. She looked at it, and then became visibly embarrassed. "Sometimes, I like to write down stories" she admitted. "No need to be embarrassed, you're talking to and English teacher, I love that stuff." Ezra smiled hoping to boost her confidence. "Well I am stuck on one story" she hesitantly offered. She nervously rubbed the back of her neck. "I do that too" he told her. "Get stuck?" she questioned? Ezra laughed, well I ment the way you rub the back of your neck, but yeah, I get stuck too. Sometimes for years".

He wasn't expecting her to light up at the comparison, but that was exactly what she did. "Well I have a character, and I just can't choose a name." she admitted. "Well is it a good guy, because I personally feel the name Ezra is very underused" he grinned at her. She smiled up at him, and Chris just chuckled. "No, this guy is a bad guy, very mean and stubborn." she responded. Ezra sat there for a minute, "Well then maybe the names Byron or Jake, I've found any dealings with either one, are very unpleasant". Ezra confidently informed her. Emma burst with laughter, she couldn't get enough of Ezra Fitz. Ezra liked her laugh, and he was surprised how much fun he was having with these children.

A sudden waive of sadness filled him, as he realized that he probably missed his shot at having his own. He always thought he would, well for along time that he and Aria would, but then things fell apart, and now years had past him by.

The sudden change in Emma's face, pulled him from his thoughts. She was looking behind him. Turning around she saw Nicole walking up. "Hey you, he greeted. "Hey yourself" she hesitantly said back. "How do we have here?" he asked nervously. "Oh this is Mike's kid Chis, and this is his cousin Elizabeth" Ezra explained. "Chris wanted to interview me for an essay he's working on" Ezra happily informed her.

Ezra saw that Nicole was visibly uncomfortable, he couldn't understand way. "Oh, your Mike's boy", she smiled to Chris, "and you Elizabeth, I've never seen you before, It's very nice to meet you" Nicole said sweetly and offered her hand. Emma reluctantly shock her hand. "So Elizabeth, how old are you?" Emma looked at her strange. "I'm eight , she politely answered. Ezra could sence the weird change in vibes once Nicole showed up.

It wasn't to much longer that the children excused themselves, and although he didn't expect it, it made Ezra sad. "Well meet up again?" he offered. "Sure if that's ok" Chris smiled. "Nice to meet you Elizabeth" Ezra said warmly. She made eye contact with him, and gave him an unexpected hug. "You too Mr. Fitz". They waived to Nicole and then walked off.

As Ezra turned around to look at Nicole was pissed at him. He was stunned. He couldn't even remember her ever being mad at him. "Whats wrong?" he questioned. "I'm waiting for the truth" she said back to him in disbelief. "Truth?, I've never lied to you." He said sincerely. In that moment, she realized, he was clueless. "Ezra you can not be this oblivious, that girl. She's yours. As soon as I saw her it was obvious. I don't know what you thought was going on but those kids could care less about an essay." Ezra sat there frozen for a moment, at first he thought she she had lost it. But almost immediately something in him told him to listen. And the he thought it over, and over. It was true, she was Aria's, she was his. In an instant, a flood of betrayal and anger consumed him. "How could she do this to me?" Ezra fumed. Nicole said nothing, just cried for him, and grabbed him in a hug.

Sooo review please, dying to know what you think!


	4. Chapter 4

Waking up that morning Ezra was both excited and distraught. All the emotions he suppressed in getting over Aria were taking over him completely. He was right back in that place where everything hurt, and he had no idea how to control it. He kept asking himself why, what had he ever done to deserve this. Aria the one person he loved in this world more than himself, had been the same one to betray him the most. He was angry, he was crushed, and he was a father.

In the midst of all his wallowing in hate, the thought of Elizabeth made him smile. Elizabeth, he thought to himself, getting a feel for the name. Not a name he would have chosen. He remembered like it was yesterday when he and Aria laid in his bed, and debated the names of their future children. Aria wanted to name a boy Ezra, he laughed at her and told her he would have to think about it. He suggested Emma for a girl, after his grandmother. Aria agreed she liked it, and it was also similar to Ella's name.

Thinking back to that conversation now Ezra snickered out loud to himself. Of course, she didn't stick to the name they talked about, Aria cut him out of every single aspect. Eight years he was never going to get back. He missed it all, and his only child was a complete stranger, just like the stranger who raised her. If Ezra was certain about one thing, he didn't know Aria Montgomery at all.

"How are you holding up?" Nicole's voice softly spoke. "It's hard to tell at this point" Ezra answered bitterly. "Do you wanna talk about it?" she offered with a smile. He turned to look at her, and caressed her cheek with his hand. "I will, I promise, but at this moment all I want to do is cry or scream or …." He trailed off. "I really don't want to subject you to the person I can turn into." He said quietly. "Well it sounds like what you need the most is answers, and you're not going to find them here" she said rubbing his back.

He knew she was right, she was always right. "So what's your next move?" Nicole asked trying her best to sound like a football coach. Ezra laughed at her, and shook his head. "I wish I could take you with me" he tried to make it sound like a joke, but he a big part of him meant it. "Yeah that will go over real well with the Ex" she laughed. "Like that remotely matters to me" he said coldly. "Well I was actually thinking of taking the exact opposite approach" Nicole said nervously.

Ezra looked at her like she was crazy "What? If you can't tell this is probably when I need you the most" Ezra chocked out. "Ezra, I'm not abandoning you, I just think me being here, every night….. it might slow things down" she trailed off. "Slow what things?" Ezra questioned. "Well with your family, like it or not, you now have one, and that does include Elizabeth's mother." "What does that change about us?" Ezra asked confused.

"Well" she stammered. "Whatever you had with this girl, was so big and real to you, you can't even speak her name. Something like that doesn't just go away, and I don't want to be the reason you hold back." She breathed out. "Are you crazy, I hate her, Aria, Aria Rose Montgomery. I hate her more than I ever knew I could hate anyone." He seethed. "Ezra you can only feel that way about someone you are madly in love with" Nicole stated firmly. "You're wrong" he pleaded. "Let's take Aria out of the equation" Nicole reasoned. "Elizabeth obviously went through a lot of effort to meet you. Do you think she really wants to finally spend time with her father, and his….friend?" Ezra had to admit she had a point. He nodded in understanding. "But were still us, right?" he asked almost scared of the answer. She smiled at him, and pulled him down toward the pillow beside her. "Hey, Ill be here until you decide that you don't need me anymore." "That's never going to happen." Ezra answered her, and then kissed her lips. "Well see" she smiled up at him. "Well see".

Pulling up to the Montgomery home was very surreal for Ezra. This was a place that held so many memories for him, and today was definitely no exception. He sat in his car for a moment, debating with himself on how he would address Ella. As much as he hated Aria for doing this, he still had a lot of blame for Ella. She was his friend, she had become almost one of his best friends in Rosewood. She begged him to come back here. She helped keep his daughter from him. His mind instantly wondered if this whole thing was Byron's idea. But Ella obviously agreed, she was just as bad as Aria.

Letting out a breath he braced himself and then headed towards the front door. After knocking a few times, a very surprised Ella answered the door. "Ezra" she said nervously, "What up?" she asked, while stepping out on the couch, and shutting the door behind her. Ezra just looked at her for a moment, obviously aggravated. "I think we both have a pretty good idea of why I'm here" Ezra answered sharply. Ella could see it in his face that he knew, she could see how much he was hurting. She knew, she was done lying to him.

"Ezra" she said pleading. "Don't, you had eight years to have this conversation. You are just as bad as them" he said harshly, "Maybe even worse, because you pretended to be my friend." "Them" she questioned. "Ezra I know you don't believe me, but I am your friend, I've always known and said over and over again this whole thing is wrong. But it's not my choice, it's Aria's, and I don't know what happened between the two of you, but she was adamant about this. It was her way of the highway." Ella tried to explain. "That is why I pushed so hard for you to come back to Rosewood, I tried a million times to have us run into you, I promise you, I've always wanted that little girl to have her father." Ella cried sincerely.

Ezra instantly buckled. He knew Ella was a good person, and he knew how stubborn Aria was. "Hey, don't cry" Ezra said softly, rubbing her shoulder. She looked up at him and gave him a weak smile. "Can you please just give me some answers?" Ezra asked. Ella whipped her eyes and sat down on the swing. She gestured for Ezra to join her. Once he did, she turned to face him. He could see that she was torn, but he was grateful she seemed willing to talk.


	5. Chapter 5

"Right before Aria came to us, and told us she was pregnant, you guys weren't together, and hadn't been for a while. Or at least that was what she lead us to believe. Me and Zach had just gotten back to Rosewood. I knew something was wrong with her, she was so depressed, she just stayed in her room for days, and when she did come out I could see that she was crying. I would ask her, but she would always say that she didn't want to talk about it. Then you would show up and want to talk to her, and you called a lot. She never wanted to talk to you, and I knew that wasn't normal Aria."

Ezra remembered, him begging and pleading just to talk to her, to explain about the book, about helping to find A. She would never even give him a chance. "So when she sat me and Byron down to talk to us, I knew something big was happening. She told us, she was she was pregnant, and Byron immediately threatened to kill you. But then she shocked us, she said you weren't the father. She said she had a drunken one night stand with some random guy. When I pressed her on it, she said it was a stupid thing she had done to try to get over you."

Ezra tried not to let his anger show, but the thought of Aria having a one night stand, or having someone else's child, was not something he would ever take well. "She said she was humiliated, and she didn't want to deal with the people of Rosewood. I mean with the small town gossip, and relentless stalkers, who could blame her. She asked us to keep her secret, and let her go stay with my mother in Philadelphia. She said she had already talked to her counselor, and she could finish her senior year there."

"I knew that you would come looking for her. When I asked her about you, she said that under no circumstances should I tell you anything. She said that if you found out about the baby it would break your heart, and she didn't want you to come looking for her, she wanted you to move on. She asked us, not to tell anyone, and that she would contact everyone is her own time. She wasn't really asking us, she was telling us. And if you could see the look on her face, she was very determined. When I started to cry at the thought of her leaving, she finally admitted that she and the baby weren't safe in Rosewood, and that this A character was still messing with them. She was doing what was best for her child, I was actually proud."

For the first time in this situation, he had some clue of what Aria was thinking. He told himself there was no other guy, Aria left town just a few days after running away from him in the cabin. She wasn't trying to protect him from a broken heart. She was trying to get away from the physco that she and the girls had convinced themselves he was. "Before we knew is Emma was here" Ella went on. "Emma?" Ezra asked shocked. "Yes, Emma, Emma Rose" Ella answered confused. "Sorry, she told me her name was Elizabeth" Ezra explained. He couldn't believe it, she kept the name.

"As soon as we saw her, it was obvious that she was yours. Byron didn't hold back in calling her a liar. That's when she drew the line, she said that whatever happened between you and her wasn't any of our business, and if we didn't want to do things her way, she wouldn't let us near Emma." Ella paused, "It's times like that she is so much like her father" Ella said irritated. " I felt horrible for you, whatever you had done, to make her leave, I know you didn't deserve not to see or even know about your baby."

"When Mr. Hackett came to me and told me there was going to be an opening, I told him he had to contact you. He thought I was crazy, because you had already resigned twice, but I told him he wouldn't find a better teacher, and I hinted that you were actually trying to get me a job where you were working. Needless to say he suddenly agreed that Rosewood needed you" she laughed. Looking over at Ezra who was not laughing with her, "I thought if you came back, I could somehow, get the two of you in the same place, and maybe y'all could work it out" she paused.

"When the story about Wren and Melissa broke, I immediately went to Aria. She had to know, it was all because of you" She was upset I could see it. But then she said, things have gone too far between you two, that there was no going back. I know she's just scared of coming clean with you. She's trying to convince herself she's doing the right thing".

"She still loves you" Ella almost whispered. Ezra just rolled his eyes. "I know her, she saw you once, not too long ago. We were at the grocery store, and she spotted you right away. You were there with Nicole, Aria froze, she hid on the isle behind you. She watched you play around with Nicole, and then kiss her. The look on Aria's face, she was crushed, she cried the entire ride home."

Ezra questioned to himself if it was possible that Ella was right. He quickly determined he didn't care. "If it's okay with you, I would like to pick my daughter up." Was Ezra's only response. "Well I'm sure she would love that." Ella smiled. "What about Aria?" Ella asked nervously. "I'm going to have a conversation with her. You need to tell me where she is" he said firmly. "Of couse" she offered. "I'll go tell Emma you're here."

"Emma!" Ella called out, as she entered the house. She looked up the stairs, but didn't see Emma coming down. "Over here" Emma quietly answered her grandmother. She was standing there in the living room by the window to the porch. "So you heard all of that?" She asked, even though she knew the answer. "Yes ma'am" she said sadly. "Are you okay?" Ella asked concerned. "I hate my mom" she said quickly. "Emma, never say that, you don't her reasons, but she has always done her best with you" Ella chided her. "We don't always agree with our family, that doesn't mean we don't love them anyway" Ella tried to reason with her. After a firm rolling of her eyes, Ella decided a change of subject was probably the best course of action.

"Do you want to go with him?" Ella questioned. "Of course, but I'm nervous, I lied to him" she admitted. "Well something tells me, he'll find it hard to hold it against you" Ella smiled. "Well go and get some things, you can stay as long as you like." Emma grinned up at her grandmother, and gave her a hug. Quickly she ran upstairs, to grab some things. A few minutes later she came down the stairs, and Ezra and Ella were at the front door talking. He looked up at her, and she could see that he was so happy to see her.

As she came closer to him, he knelled down on his knee and to get closer to her level. "Can we make a deal?" he asked her. She looked at him curiously. "What kind of deal?" she questioned. "No lies, between you and me" Ezra smiled. "Let's make a father/daughter contract where we only tell each other the truth, no matter what" he smiled. "That sounds fair" she smiled back. "Perfect, so tell me Emma Rose, where would like to go today?" Emma beamed as she thought about her options. "I want to see where you live" she finally decided. "Well, it may a little on the boring side, but consider me at your disposal" Ezra smiled at her and then offered her his hand. She took it happily and then waved by to her grandmother.

Ella could see that Emma was bursting with excitement, and she herself was very happy to see Ella finally with her father. But the little voice inside her head, was very nervous. She was going to have to deal with Aria, and that was going to happened very quickly.

**Soooo the Ezra/Aria confrontation is the next chapter! This is actually the first chapter I wrote in this story, sooo stay tuned! Oh and please review it makes me happy, and then I know if people even want to continue to write this story. So let me know what you think!**


	6. Chapter 6

Aria Montgomery was sitting at her desk having a conversation with her friend Taylor about their weekend plans. Having worked at the advertising firm for three years, she had become very close to a few of her co-workers. They would often go shopping together, and on occasions go out with their boyfriends.

Aria was laughing about a story Taylor was telling about her little boy, when their friend Amber came up to them. "So I know I could have buzzed you, but I had to come and get you myself" Amber beamed obviously very excited about something. "Why, what's up?" Aria asked confused. "Well quite possibly the most beautiful man I have ever seen is up front asking for you" she squealed.

Aria was surprised, she knew it wasn't Daniel, Amber already knew Daniel, and he wouldn't exactly qualify for the most beautiful man award. "Well who is it?" Aria asked. "Well I was doing a lot more staring then listening, I'm sorry" she laughed. "But he's tall dark and handsome, with deep blue eyes" Amber went on. Aria froze. "No, it couldn't be" she said out loud. "Who?" Taylor asked as she watched her friend freak out. Aria went to look out into the lobby, and her gut was right, standing there was the one only Ezra Fitz. Aria quickly hid behind the door, so he wouldn't spot her.

"What's going on?" Taylor asked frustrated. "That man out there, is the love of my life." Aria said sadly. "Well I sure as hell wouldn't be upset if he was asking for me" Amber said with a smirk. "You would if you broke his heart." Aria responded as she slumped down the door.

"Well hiding behind this door hardly seems like the logical thing to do" Taylor tried to reason. "You need to know why he's here, it might even be something great" Taylor added with a smile. "With our history, I promise you, it's not remotely great. I'm pretty sure he hates me." Aria said looking at her shoes. "There's only one way to find out." Amber pressed.

"Yeah, you have to find out, even if it's just to appease out nosiness." Taylor smiled. "I know, I need to face him, I've been putting this off for far too long." Aria said, as she stood up to face the door. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and stepped out into the lobby. Ezra turned, and instantly they locked eyes with each other. Aria froze in a visible panic. "I need to speak with you, can we go somewhere?" His voice was low but firm. "Okay" being the only response she could summon up. "I'm going to take a lunch" she offered back to Taylor and Amber who were both standing at the door.

Nervously Aria followed Ezra out of the building and across the street to a café with tables that lined the side walk. Taking her seat across from him, she braced herself for whatever was about to happen. "Are you scared of me?" He asked, looking directly into her eyes. She swallowed hard. "Not of you hurting me…..physically" she answered feebly.

Ezra paused, weighing what his next words would be. He had prepared a speech on his drive from Rosewood, but sitting there face to face with her, made him instantly lose some of the his resolve. He instead just went with the emotions that were overtaking him at the moment. "No matter what crazy situations we were in, I genuinely fell in love with you. I know you don't believe that, but it's true. Everything I did after that point was for you." Aria could see the hurt in his eyes.

"I know that now, Ezra. I was a wreck back then, I couldn't take the chance of being wrong about you." Aria tried to explain. She was trying not to cry, but she couldn't help it. "You just left, and you never even gave me a chance to explain, do you know what that did to me?" Ezra asked. His voice giving his emotions away. "There's no way I can explain myself, I wish I could go back, I would do it all different." Aria stammered. "When I found out you were helping the police, I cried for days. I wanted to reach out to you" she said whipping some tears away.

"Well why didn't you?" he asked angrily. "It's gone too far, I can't uproot everything because I found out the truth, It wouldn't be fair" Aria trailed off. "Fair to whom?" Ezra asked with anger raising in his voice. "To me or to Emma?" Ezra fumed.

Aria pulled back, reeling from Ezra's words. "How do you know about Emma?" Aria stammered. "How could you do this to me? How could you do this to her?" Ezra spat out. "You stole a huge part of our lives, and we will never get that back." Aria had never seen Ezra look at her with so much hate in his eyes. It made her shutter.

Aria sat there in silence, she couldn't find the words to say. "I came here to let you know that I'm filing for joint custody, I'm not going to let you keep her from me anymore." Ezra's said firmly. "I understand" Aria mustered up, while her world spinned around her. "I'm so sorry Ezra" she whispered. "Save it, I'm not interested. After everything with Malcolm, you kept her from me. I could never forgive you" he hissed.

With that he walked away, leaving a teary eyed Aria to soak up her own shock.

**Soooooo... would love to hear what you think so far! Review and let me know!**


	7. Chapter 7

Slowly walking back into her office, Aria still seemed in a daze. "What happened?" Amber asked, shocked that Aria was back so quickly. She and Taylor were just then leaving for lunch. "Come with us Aria, you look like you need to talk." Taylor said while linking arms with her and walking out of the building.

"So are you going to tell us what happened" Amber asked while they found their seats at the table. "He's filing for custody" Aria said slowly, as if she was just now processing it herself. "Custody?" Taylor questioned. "He's Emma's father?" Both friends asked immediately. "Where has he been this whole time?" Taylor asked frustrated.

"It's not like that" Aria tried to clarify. "He never knew about Emma, I never told him, I still don't know how he found out" she admitted. "You never told him?" Taylor asked in disbelief. "Why?" Once again the questions all coming in at once.

"It's a really long story. Look I'm sorry I really think I need to go home, please tell John I'm sorry, and that I don't feel well. I'll be back on Monday. I'll call y'all I promise" she said as she rushed from the table, leaving her friends stunned.

Retreating back to her apartment Aria was grateful to be alone. Seeing Ezra instantly brought back a wave of emotions that she had been keeping locked up inside her for years. Seeing his beautiful eyes and lips, hearing his voice, she found herself overwhelmed with the hurt of missing him. Now Emma, does she know? Does she hate her for lying all this time? How would she explain? Her head hurt just at the thought.

A noise from the living room pulled Aria from her thoughts. She could hear the front door being unlocked. She figured it must be Daniel. She thought of trying to fix her face, not wanting anyone to see her in the state she was in, but that was a lost cause at this point. As Daniel came into the room, he was surprised to see her curled up in her bed, her face soaked in tears. "Aria, what happened? I stopped by to see you for lunch, Taylor said you were sick?" he questioned.

Aria didn't really want to get into it, but she knew she was going to have to explain sooner or later. "I had a rough day" she said in a harsh voice. "What's really wrong, I've never seen you like this." He pleaded.

"Ezra showed up today, he knows about Emma, and he's filing for custody" she explained between sobs. "Ezra?" Daniel responded confused. "You've never told me about Emma's father, you always avoided it." Daniel went on frustrated. "What do you mean he knows about Emma? He didn't before? Why? Where you scared of him?".

Aria put her head in her hands. "I thought I found out things about him, scary things. I never let him explain. I had just found out I was pregnant, I wasn't take any chances with my baby, I packed up and left town. A couple of years ago, my mother, and then my best friends all came to me with an article in local paper. Apparently Ezra had been working with the police, and he was the reason they found the people that were really stalking me and my friends.".

"Stalking?" Daniel responded, just now realizing he barely knew the woman he had been dating for over three years. He sat there a minute, taking in the information he was just given. "So he's going to just come and take Emma now?" he questioned. "No he just wants joint custody, he wouldn't do that to me" Aria answered quickly. Daniel didn't respond, he just rolled his eyes. It bothered him how quick she was to defend him, and that she left him for reasons that she clearly regretted now.

Choosing to keep cool and not come off like the jealous boyfriend, he simply offered her a reassuring hug. "We'll figure it out Aria, it will all be okay". "I need to talk to her, I need to make sure she's okay. I need to go home, to Rosewood." Daniel stiffened up, he instantly hated the idea of Aria leaving, knowing that this Ezra would be around. "Well then I'm going with you" he stated firmly. Aria looked at him confused. "Why would you want get involved in this?" she questioned. "I already am involved, I want to be there for you. You just might need the backup" he offered.

Aria weighed her options. While bringing Daniel around clearly would not help her situation with Ezra, it would provide a buffer from her mother, who is most likely the reason all this is even happening. Aria instantly wanted to dial up her mother, and blow up at her. "This is probably all my mother's doing. She had no right, to take things into her own hands. That was probably the entire reason she wanted Emma for the summer". Aria tried to calmed herself, she figured she should probably find out for sure, before unleashing on her mother. Thinking it over, it could have been Mike, he never liked this situation, and always threw it in Aria's face, "It could very possibly be Mike I know that Mike and Ezra are friends now" Aria said with a scowl on her face.

"So are we going to need a hotel room?" Daniel asked nervously. Aria turned back to look at him. She almost laughed at herself. "No, even if me and mom are at each other's throats, I wouldn't not stay with her" Aria tried to explain. Daniel just looked at her like she was crazy. "Well let's pack some things, if we leave now, we can beat the traffic." She offered.

Aria was relived to pull up to her mother's house. About five minutes into the drive she regretted letting Daniel come with her. It was a family matter, a very personal one, and it didn't seem right to have him involved. She felt guilty for feeling this way, he had been nothing but good to her. She knew that he really cared about her, both her and Emma. While things seemed to be going great for them, she had to admit to herself that seeing Ezra today really put a lot of things into perspective.

There was no comparing her feelings for the two men, one was the love of her life, and the other a great guy she enjoyed dating. All of this bubbling up the surface, she found herself suddenly uncomfortable when Daniel reached for her hand. Pulling up to her childhood home, was a needed exit to the situation.

"MOM!" Aria called out as she walked into the house. Ella looked shocked as she came into the living room. "Aria, why didn't you tell me you were coming?" Ella asked. "Well I figured, I would catch you before you went into hiding." Aria said sarcastically. "Aria, don't blame me, I only talked to him, after he confronted me. He came here to the house wanting answers." Ella defended. "Was it Mike" Aria immediately shot back. "No, it was your daughter, she found him herself." Ella corrected her.

Aria sat there a moment, to shocked to really respond to her mother's statement. "Where is she now?" was all Aria could say. "She's with Ezra, they will actually be here in a few minutes to pick up some of her things" Ella informed her. "Great" Aria said out load. "That's just great!"

**Once again let me know what you think!**


	8. Chapter 8

"Pick out whatever you like" Ezra told the excited young girl beside him. "Are you serious?" Emma questioned. "Yeah, go crazy, It's going to be your room, you can pick out everything, yourself" Ezra smiled.

She quickly grabbed his hand and dragged him over to where all the model rooms were on display. "Look it's all purple!" she squealed. "So I guess purple is your favorite" Ezra responded. "Definitely" she smiled, as she grazed over all the options. "What about you?" she turned and asked him. Thinking it over for a minute "Pink, definitely Pink" Ezra smirked. "No, really, I want to know" Emma pressed. "Well if I had to commit, maybe blue, I guess. I seem to wear a lot of blue" he reasoned.

"A little predictable, but okay" Emma laughed. "About as shocking as you loving purple" Ezra shot back. "Okay, favorite song?" Emma asked as she now was sorting through pillows. "Oh, now I could never commit to that, I just couldn't pick only one" Ezra smiled. "What about you? Do you have one?" he asked curiously. Emma didn't immediately answer, and she looked a little pink in the face.

"You don't have to be shy, you can say it" Ezra said as seeing her hesitation. "You're going to think it's stupid" she answered. "I promise I won't" he said as he picked up the pillows she had set to the side. "Well I love Taylor Swift, and Love story is my absolute favorite" she admitted. "I was preparing myself for Lady Gaga or something terrible like that, Taylor Swift not a bad choice" Ezra told her sincerely.

Line Break

Ezra noticed a second car in the driveway as he pulled up to Ella's house. "Looks like Ella has company" Ezra smiled to Emma. She instead looked over to him with a worried look on her face. "That's mom's car" she said quickly. "Are you upset?" he asked her, concerned. "I'm, I'm just not sure if she's mad at me, I know I'm mad at her" she admitted.

Ezra breathed in deep. "Look, I know right now things are confusing, but you should really give your mother the chance to tell you her side of things. I don't know how all of this is going to work out, but I can't be the reason you fight with your mom" Ezra tried to explain. "She seems to have done a great job with you, so maybe you could cut her a little slack" he tried to reason. "But she never tells me anything, I hate it!" she fumed. "Well, maybe she should know that?" Ezra told her. Emma didn't really respond, just giving him a small nod. "You ready?" Ezra asked her. "Yeah," she smiled.

Walking up to the house, Ezra made a mental note to be kind to Aria in front of Emma. If there was one thing he never wanted for his children, it was to be exposed to parents who hated each other like his own parents. Walking into the house he found a flustered Ella, a nervous Aria, and some random guy standing by her side, his hand resting on her lower back. Ezra tried not let it show that he noticed this, but he found himself staring at the two of them for a second.

Instantly he became angry. Why would she bring this guy here? Just the thought of another man taking his place, not just with Aria, but with his daughter, he became enraged. How dare she give another man the choice to raise his daughter, when he never had one. Of course she probably moved on right away, that was just like her. While it took years for him to recover, she probably only took days.

Quickly, he averted his eyes and looked to Ella. "Is this a bad time?" he asked her. "No, your fine Ezra" Ella smiled at him, at least trying to pretend that this was remotely a normal situation. "Are you mad at me?" Emma suddenly asked to her mother. "Mad, at you?" Aria questioned. "No baby, I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at me" Aria said sincerely. Aria was mad at Ezra too, but chose to not to fight that battle at this moment.

As if thinking it over in her mind. Emma was silent for a moment before looking up at her mother and smiling. "My Dad took me shopping, I'm going to have my own room in his house!" Emma beamed as walked toward her mother. "Oh" Aria responded trying to sound excited. "Then I'm sure he'll be drowning in a sea of purple." She couldn't help but to look over at Ezra. He looked good, damn him, he always looked good. He was casually dressed in a grey t-shirt and tan cargo shorts. Her mind went back to when she was the only one who got to see that side of him. "Of course, and I got a unicorn comforter set!" Emma excitedly added.

"Well you'll have to show me pictures" Aria smiled. "Why, aren't you going to come check it out?" Emma asked confused. Now all the eyes in the room were on Aria. She could feel the stares, as she debated her response. Nervously, Aria looked over to Ezra. As if to ask him to jump in, he of course offered no help, and avoided eye contact with her. Aggravated with him, she decided to take the opportunity. "I would love to see it, I could even help you if you wanted" she offered. "That would be perfect!" Emma grinned wide.

Instantly the two men in the room, both shot her very displeased looks. Ella tried her best to hold in a giggle, but she didn't do a very good job. "Well we need to get going Emma, we have dinner plans" Ezra reminded her. "Okay Dad" the young girl smiled, as she hugged her mother, and headed upstairs. "I'll help you" Ezra offered, not wanting to be stuck downstairs waiting for her.

"Well that wasn't that bad" Ella said quietly once Ezra had gone upstairs. Aria rolled her eyes at her mother. "So you thought that went well? Aria questioned her mother as they walked into the kitchen. "He didn't even acknowledge me! I might as well been invisible." Aria complained. Ella looked around to make sure that Daniel was out of ears length. "Well he sure did noticed Daniel, I swear I just don't know what goes through that mind of yours." Ella chided her daughter. "I know, I know, it wasn't my idea to bring him, he insisted." Aria tried to explain. "All I'm going to say, that is if you ever want to fix things with Ezra, showing up with Daniel is hardly the most strategic move" Ella said annoyed.

"Well don't be so sure that's even what I want" Aria shot back. "So you don't" Ella questioned, giving her daughter a knowing look. Aria just rolled her eyes. "We don't even know each other anymore, hell I don't know I ever even knew him" Aria said sadly. Ella looked at her daughter, she could see that Aria was being honest. "Do you want to talk about it?" she offered. "Honestly, yes. I'm dying to, to you, to Ezra, to Emma. I feel like the not really talking about this has been choking me for years." Aria admitted. "Then tell me, I'm your mother, your suppost to come to me" Ella tried to convince her. Aria knew she was right. "Okay tonight after Daniel goes to sleep, I'll tell you everything. I promise."

"Mom we're leaving!" Emma called out coming down the stairs. Quickly the two women went back into the living room. Emma went to hug them goodbye, and sweetly waved bye to Daniel. "Bye kiddo" he smiled at her. Ezra simply nodded towards Ella, and walked of the house with his daughter. Aria couldn't help but look crushed to see the door close.

Ella looked nervously at her daughter, she falling apart. Daniel at that moment was noticing the exact same thing. He felt it as soon as Emma and Ezra arrived. She was crazy about him, she couldn't stop looking at him. It was pretty obvious that Aria was still caught up in whatever she had with her ex. But Daniel wasn't going to bow out without a fight. He had three years with Aria, that he was going to hold on to. One thing was for sure, Ezra had not seen the last of him.

**Not hardly any reviews for the last chapter :( Come on guys, let me know what you think!**


	9. Chapter 9

Aria quietly laid in bed next to Daniel. She had spent the last two hours talking to her mother about everything that happened between her and Ezra. She was exhausted. She did her best not to wake up Daniel, mostly to get some actual sleep, and a little to avoid the millions of questions he must have.

After working it out with Ella, they decided the best thing to do was take one day at a time, and eventually have a heart to heat with both Ezra and Emma. Aria needed to make them understand. She was never out to punish Ezra, she was in genuine fear of him. Also Ezra had needed to give a few explanations of his own.

Another thing Aria could not avoid was that she was in a relationship with a man she was not in love with. She felt guilty admitting that to her mother, but the overwhelming truth was that her heart still belonged to Ezra. She needed to tell him the truth and soon, he was a great guy, and he deserved to be loved. Closing her eyes Aria told herself she would tell him tomorrow. It made her stomach hurt, but it was the right thing to do.

Waking up that morning, Aria found herself alone in the room. The smell of bacon was coming from downstairs. Looking over at the clock, she realized she had slept in until after 10:00am. She opened the bedroom door and could hear Daniel downstairs talking to her mother. Grateful for the small moment of privacy she went for her phone to call Spencer.

"Hey" Spencer answered cheerfully. "Hey, do you have a minute?" Aria asked. "Yeah, I'm just getting in a quick run. What's going on?" Spencer asked, picking up on Aria's serious tone. "I'm in Rosewood, and Emma is with Ezra" Aria spat out quickly. "Oh, Aria that's amazing, I'm so glad you finally came to your senses!" Spencer cheered. "Well not exactly, I'm still a coward. Emma found him, on her own. She asked to stay with mom, but it was really to find him." Aria explained.

"What, how did she even know who he was?" Spencer asked shocked. "Well I don't know exactly how yet, we haven't had a chance to really talk about anything yet" Aria admitted. "What about Ezra? How did he take it?" Spencer asked nervously. "Well him and Emma are apparently two peas in a pod, but he can't even bare to look me. He said he was going to get a lawyer, and get joint custody. I can't really expect anything else" Aria admitted. "Yeah after Malcolm, I'm sure he wants to do everything he can to protect himself" Spencer agreed.

"So, how is it being around him after so long? Is it still there?" Spencer couldn't help but ask. "Oh well for me, it's undeniably there, it hurts just to look at him, and not be able to just grab him. But, as for him, I don't think his feelings come anywhere even close to love. Plus, he has a girlfriend" Aria noted sadly. "So, you have a boyfriend, that doesn't mean you're not still in love with him. I mean, I'm not the Ezra Fitz expert, but I don't see that man ever really getting over you." Spencer tried not giggle. "Well if you saw the way he looks at me, then you might question yourself." Aria countered.

"I doubt it, but what you need to give your daughter the family time, she has always deserved. Ezra will have to see that is only fair for her. Plus, the more time he spends with you, the faster he will realize he is absolutely still in love with you." Spencer's smile was evident, even over the phone. "Well, maybe." Aria answered, not entirely convinced. "Well I'm going to eat breakfast, say a prayer for me!" Aria chirped. "Yes ma'am, love you!" Spencer called out, and got back to her run.

"Good Morning love!" Ella greeted as Aria made her way downstairs. "Morning" Aria smiled back as she joined Daniel at the table. He leaned over and gave her a kiss on her forehead, she only politely smiled back at him. "So after breakfast, do you want to head back home?" Daniel asked. "We can go pick up Emma if you don't feel comfortable leaving her here?" he added.

Ella tried not to show it, but she couldn't help but stiffen up at his request. It was obvious he didn't want Aria sticking around Rosewood for too long. "Well, about that" Aria paused. "I think I'm going to stay here, at least for the weekend. Emma's got some big things going on, and I want to be here for her" Aria stated. "Babe, I understand that, but she's with her Dad. What are we going to do in Rosewood for two days?" he asked her.

"Well I was thinking, that I was going to go over there. Ezra is a reasonable guy, and he'll see that it's not best for our daughter to us to keep acting like children ourselves. I want to help her with her new room, and I don't want to lose every weekend with her. He'll have to share." She said confidently. "Like you did" Daniel scoffed. Aria couldn't help but recoil from his verbal blow. Ella meanwhile told herself not to jump on the guy, she knew her daughter could handle herself.

"Babe, I'm sorry." Daniel said immediately. "I'm just freaking out with everything that is happening. All the sudden Emma very much has a father, and now you're both suddenly going to be spending all this time with him. I know you hate jealousy, but this is her father, and he just happens to be some GQ model, it's a lot to take in" Daniel admitted.

Aria's anger vanished. She could see that he was struggling. His senses were screaming at him, and she knew they were right. "I don't expect you to be excited, I know this is hard for you. But right now Emma needs me more. I'm afraid if I just go back home, I'll lose her. That might not make sense to you. But it's the scariest thing in the world to me." Aria tried to explain. "No, I understand completely, that's how I feel about you" Daniel admitted.

A few hours later Aria found herself standing at Ezra's front door. She smiled to herself, proud that he had brought a home. She remembered his small cramped apartment, she had to admit that she still missed it. Breathing in and out, she knocked on the door. She knew Ezra was home, as his car was out front. Still no one answered the door. A few more tries at knocking, she decided just to go inside herself.

"Emma, Ezra!" Aria called out. Looking around the house, she couldn't find anyone. Walking towards the back, she heard music playing. Looking through the patio doors she could see Ezra and Emma sitting at the patio table. Ezra had a guitar in his hand and Emma was smiling wide, looking up at him and singing along to the music. As Aria got closer she could tell that they were both singing Emma's favorite song "Love Story".

Taking in the sight, she suddenly felt guilty for barging in on their obviously great day. They both looked so happy to be with each other right then. Ezra's huge beautiful grin killed her. Quickly she send out a text to Spencer and Ella. "Walked up to Ezra and Emma dueting to Taylor Swift. Not sure, if my heart can handle the adorableness".

Deciding to stop her inner fan girl from being officially any creepier, she opened up the patio door, and sat down on an empty chair next to Emma. "Mom" Emma cheered. "Dad learned Taylor Swift, just for me!" She announced proudly. "I see that, y'all sound beautiful." Aria smiled at her. She turned back to Ezra, and as expected his smile was now gone, and a not so well hidden aggravation, had taken its place.

"I hope you don't mind, I knocked, but you couldn't hear me" She tried to explain. "Its fine" he simply answered. "I wanted to come check out your new room" she smiled to Emma, I want to see how it's turning out." "Come on, we'll show you." Emma immediately called out. "Come on Dad, let's show her" she grinned over to him. "Of course" he smiled back to her.

Making their way up the stairs to Emma's room, Aria couldn't help but notice pictures of Ezra and the girl he was seeing. She tried to block it out, but it killed her to see Ezra with another woman. As they entered into the room, Aria couldn't help but laugh. It was obvious Ezra already had a problem with spoiling Emma. The princess style bed alone looked like it cost more than Aria's furniture combined. "Went a little crazy huh?" Aria asked Ezra. "Maybe" he admitted.

"Well what do you think about a little more shopping to fill up this big closet?" Aria offered. "Really?" Emma lit up. "Dad, can you come with us?" Emma asked him. "Oh, Em. I have to admit, clothes shopping is not really my thing. You go on with your mom, I've got some errands to run." He answered. He knew he was disappointing her, but he wasn't ready for a family outing.

Aria sensing his uneasiness, did her best to make the best of it. "Well, I can take her for a few hours, and then bring her back?" Aria offered. "Yeah, just send me a text when you are on your way" Ezra answered, looking at his hands. "I..I don't have your number" Aria reminded him. "I know it mom" Emma smiled.

Once Ezra was alone in the house, he brought out his phone and texted Nicole. "All alone for a few hours, feel free to come see me." After only a few seconds, his phone beeped back. "I think I can manage to get in some Ezra time;)" Nicole wrote back. Starting to pick up some things that he and Emma had left out Ezra was surprised to hear a knock at his door so soon.

"Well, that was quick" he joked as he opened the door. His smile soon faded as he realized it was Aria's boyfriend standing at his door. "I was wanting to have a talk with you, just us men," Daniel said politely. Ezra stepped back and let him into the living room. He shook his head in frustration at the situation. Just seeing this guy pissed him off, and now he had the nerve to come to his house.

"Aria doesn't know I'm here" Daniel started. "I'd rather keep it that way." He added nervously. "I just wanted to gage how big of a problem you're going to be for me." Daniel said. Ezra had already heard enough. "Let me just stop you right there. I know exactly why you are here, and let me explain something. This is not my first standoff over Aria, I've been here before, a few times. But here's what make this situation different. I don't want her, I'm not the least bit interested in putting up a fight for her. She kept my daughter from me, I completely fucking hate her. You don't need to worry about me, I'm out of the love triangle games. That my friend is now your problem."

Daniel just stood there in shock for a moment. He wasn't prepared for Ezra's response. Just as he was about respond, Nicole came walking through the door. Silently he thanked God for the much needed escape plan. Nicole stood silent, noticing the tension between the two men. "Well I can see you are busy, thanks for hearing me out" Daniel offered, and found his way out of the house.

"Who was that?" Nicole asked confused. "Aria's boyfriend" Ezra answered. "He wanted to come mark his territory of some shit like that" Ezra said annoyed. Nicole giggled at him cursing. "Oh, well I'm sort of sad I missed it" she laughed. "Shut up" Ezra said as he pulled her towards him.

**You keep reviewing, I'll keep updating :)**


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